The work “To all of those people who destroyed my city” was presented in one of many devasteted factories in city of Osijek, Croatia.

The work “To all of those people who destroyed my city” was presented in one of many devasteted factories in city of Osijek, Croatia.

The work “To all of those people who destroyed my city” was presented in one of many devasteted factories in city of Osijek, Croatia.

The work “To all of those people who destroyed my city” was presented in one of many devasteted factories in city of Osijek, Croatia.

The work “To all of those people who destroyed my city” was presented in one of many devasteted factories in city of Osijek, Croatia.

The work “To all of those people who destroyed my city” was presented in one of many devasteted factories in city of Osijek, Croatia.

Detail of print.

Detail of print.

Detail of print.

Performance

Performance

Performance

Performance

Performance

Performance

Performance

“To all of those people who destroyed my city.”, 2017

The work was created on the foundation of historic situations which directly concern the city in which I live and create. There is a clear reference to the early nineties of the last century which have put the city into the state it currently finds itself in. Living through a breakdown, a crash on all spheres of life, has led to the state that Osijek has become a city of very uncertain future. The devastation in a physical context was visible and it remains a part of the past, while the psychological devastation of the community is still very potent and present today. I refer to both the pre-war, and the post-war period in the work, and the symbolism of one Kuna[1] in the context of the companies which have today, 26 years later, become a part of the archives of the ruined sector of economy, once a driving force of the city as a living environment. From the historical facts[2] we can conclude that the privatization with the aim of self-gain of individuals has led the city into a state of apathy and lethargy, the symptoms of the plain. The abandoned factory grounds have been left to fall into oblivion, mostly useless and snuggled in the times and nature which leads them through its own experiences. I “appropriate” them as my own creative spaces and they start to be interesting to me in the context of the works I create. The multimedia work “To all those people who destroyed my city.” was created from this experience of lifeless spaces.

There are several important items in this work; knee protectors sculpted from wood in which there are about 30 one Kuna coins inserted, indicating the symbolism of the devastation in the context of privatization which has not, in most cases, been performed for the common good, and for the benefit of the community. With the performative act of kneeling that turns into movement, I leave a trace on metal sheets with those same Kunas which is, in this case, the trace of the people who have done their share for the community, working in and for it, while being driven into a state of uncertainty by the one Kuna. Furthermore, there is an emphasized upright position of the body as a sign of the respect for the monumentality of the building, a metaphor for stability and solidity. The bloody traces contrasting with the whiteness of the paper are created by printing the metal sheets, and the very monumentality of the print of the work projects a personal perspective on the importance of the problem of the disappearing city.